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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24802372">just moments before, moments erased, moments to love again</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentiia/pseuds/ardentiia'>ardentiia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Feelings, Female My Unit | Byleth, Gronder Field, Hilclaude Week (Fire Emblem), Kissing, Love Confessions, Mentioned Edelgard von Hresvelg, Minor Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, One Shot, Time Travel Fix-It, War, but i didn't realize hilclaude week ended until like yesterday, byleth to the rescue, dimileth if you want, hilclaude, hilda's death quote on cf, i don't really know where i was going with this i just wanted to write some hilclaude and angst, no beta we die like Glenn, some character death but not graphic so it's ok, yes i know hilclaude was last week i'm SORRY DON'T HURT ME PLEASE</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:55:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,527</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24802372</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentiia/pseuds/ardentiia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Promise me you’ll come back?” His eyes flicked over her. In the flickering light of the tent, she’d looked every inch the warrior princess--elegant, but deadly. Powerful. Dangerous. Beautiful.</p><p>She’d laughed, a bright sound that, even if only temporarily, chased away his worries. Relaxed his shoulders, even in the midst of nervousness for the upcoming battle.</p><p>“Claude, when have I ever <i>not</i> come back?”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hilda Valentine Goneril &amp; Claude von Riegan, Hilda Valentine Goneril/Claude von Riegan, My Unit | Byleth &amp; Claude von Riegan, dimitri/byleth if you squint</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>just moments before, moments erased, moments to love again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He’s kneeling in the slick mud, slippery beneath his feet with rain and blood. The grass is trampled to the point of extinction, bits of armor scattered across the field, accompanied by broken weapons. Bodies are littered across Gronder, blood tainting the once-beautiful ground. Sounds of clashing metal and pain-filled screams echo in the distance, the dismal, clouded sky witness to the atrocities of war as one after another, both friend and foe fall prey to death. Lance, sword, arrow, magic, find their mark and claim the lives of enemies, former classmates, friends. </p><p>He’s kneeling in the slick mud, her body in his arms, small and limp and cold. Just moments before, she’d laughed beside him, Freikugel slung across one shoulder. She’d looked him in the eyes, her bright pink hair pristine, not yet dampened by rain, dirt, blood. </p><p>“I’ll be okay, Claude. Since when did you become so concerned about lil ol’ me?” she’d teased, pink irises alight with merriment. In the passing months, her teasing had been the only thing that got him through the war, always there to pick him back up and remind him that there were lives depending on him. The one speck of light in the world ridden with darkness.</p><p>“Promise me you’ll retreat when I say so?” he’d said, the grin not reaching his eyes as he watched her buckle on the last pieces of her lightweight armor.</p><p>She’d given him an exasperated look, but he’d fixed his gaze on her until she’d sighed and rolled her eyes slightly. “Promise,” she’d said, drawing out the word, hoisting the legendary axe onto her shoulder. </p><p>“Promise me you’ll come back?” His eyes flicked over her. In the flickering light of the tent, she’d looked every inch the warrior princess--elegant, but deadly. Powerful. Dangerous. Beautiful.</p><p>She’d laughed, a bright sound that, even if only temporarily, chased away his worries. Relaxed his shoulders, even in the midst of nervousness for the upcoming battle.</p><p>“Claude, when have I ever <em> not </em> come back?”</p><p>That was the last thing she’d said to him. Before he’d watched her fall. Slowly, but surely, as if time was dragging its feet, not wanting him to see what came next.</p><p>But he saw what came next. He always did.</p><p>He’d screamed, sending an arrow from Failnaught straight through the man in front of her before he even realized what he was doing. Hilda would have scolded him for protecting her instead of paying attention to himself. “Aren’t I the one who’s supposed to be protecting you?” she would have said. But he didn't care about that then. All he’d cared about was the image of her, swaying in the rain, before crumpling, like a flower crushed beneath a boot. </p><p>She was still alive when he made it to her side. Barely, but still strong enough to grip his fingers, and he, hers. Freikugel lay beside her, its signature red glow pulsing in time to her fading heartbeat as he’d tucked her into his arms, sliding her body onto his lap as he cradled her head.</p><p>“It’s been fun Claude,” she’d said, breath rasping in her throat. Her pink eyes were half-closed, watching him even as he tried to cover the blood spilling from the wound across her chest. So much blood. Both of them knew what it meant, but he refused to stop trying. He would never stop trying. “I’m sorry to go so soon.”</p><p>“Hilda, why didn’t you retreat?” He tried to conceal the shaking in his voice, in his arms as her blood continued to coat her waist, his lap. “I counted on you retreating…”</p><p>She’d slid her other hand up to his cheek, trailing fingers in her own blood, leaving streaks of red against his face like maroon tears. Matching the clear tears that slid through the grime on his face, <em> drip drip dripping </em> onto her chest.</p><p>
  <span>“He would have killed you,” she whispered, flicking her eyes to the body that lay where Failnaught’s arrow had pierced it. He didn’t mean to shoot to kill, never wanting to murder, but his eyes had been too blinded by shock and horror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The golden hair, the shadowed eyepatch, the cloak patterned blue and black. Just moments before, Claude had seen Dimitri face off against Edelgard, both shouting horrible words at each other as they clashed. When Edelgard had fallen, Dimitri had turned his attention to Claude, and the regret in his eyes wasn’t enough to stop the path of Areadbhar as it speared towards him.</span>
</p><p>But someone had pushed him aside. Someone had saved his life, at the expense of theirs. </p><p>That someone was Hilda Valentine Goneril.</p><p>“Why, Hilda?” His grip on her tightens, as if it will keep her with him for just a bit longer. Anchoring her to this world. “Why?”</p><p>A small laugh bubbles up from within her, bringing blood to her lips as she coughs. “You know why,” she says, voice faint as she stares into his eyes. “Khalid.”</p><p>The light fades from her eyes, and her stare turns glassy as her head lolls to the side, staring up at the weeping sky. He bends over her body, so small in his arms, clutching her to his chest. Her hair, more dark than pastel, sweeps over his shoulders, his tears mixing with the bloody sear across her chest as he screams at the unfairness, the time that he didn’t have, the time that had run out.</p><p>He knows what she meant, and his heart tears in two as he hugs her still body. He’d always known, but had hoped, had wished, that he would have had more time. More time to talk, to laugh, with her. To confess.</p><p>
  <em> I love you, Hilda. </em>
</p><p>How war makes a mockery of them all.</p><p>Footsteps approach behind him, but he doesn’t look up. Even if it’s an enemy soldier, he wouldn’t defend himself. There’s no point. Not without her.</p><p>“Claude.”</p><p>At the sound of the professor’s voice, Claude looks up, eyes clouded like the sky far above. </p><p>“Teach.” His voice is empty, devoid of any emotion, not even a trace of teasing as she watches him with green eyes. So different from Hilda’s sunset pink ones, he finds himself thinking, and his eyes squeeze shut, fresh tears spilling over. Hilda’s eyes, never to open again. </p><p>He hadn’t seen Byleth anywhere at Gronder, even though she had allied herself with Dimitri. No, it was just the prince himself, cutting swaths through Alliance ranks, and nearly through him, until Hilda had intervened.</p><p>So why would she appear now?</p><p>Byleth kneels beside him, stroking Hilda’s hair, then hovering light fingers over the wound on her chest. He lets her, if hesitantly, and only because she’s the professor, the lingering respect for her staying his hand, preventing him from snapping at her to get away. Once upon a time, he had trusted her. But with the years of war, trust is no longer an option.</p><p>“I can fix this.”</p><p>The quiet murmur, more directed at herself than him. But still, his eyes light up with a fervor, hope bordering on madness. Desperate, dangerous hope. Willing hope.</p><p>“You can save Hilda?” His voice cracks on her name. </p><p>Byleth looks down at Hilda, then up at him. “Yes,” she says carefully, then reaches out to touch his shoulder. “Dimitri will be revived, and you will not remember any of it. Any of this.”</p><p>Claude doesn’t hesitate, every fiber in his body begging for any solution, any way to save Hilda. Without her, he is nothing. He needs her, and if this is the only way, if erasing his memory and reviving Dimitri can bring Hilda back to him...“Teach, <em> please, </em>” he begs, releasing Hilda with one hand to grip the professor’s hand tightly. “I will never ask you for anything again. I know we’ve had our differences but...please. Save her. I will do anything.”</p><p>She looks him in the eye, her gaze sad. She nods once.</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>She would have turned back time even if Claude hadn’t asked, pleaded, begged. Dimitri lying with Failnaught’s arrow in his heart, dying, dying, dying as she held his hand, promised to make things right. To save the kingdom. To not let his death be in vain.</p><p>She’d been so far from him, intent on keeping the Empire soldiers away from the Kingdom forces, but she wouldn’t let his death be in vain. Never in vain, when it could be erased with a single word from her. </p><p>But seeing Claude bent over Hilda’s body, heart stripped bare like a tree with no bark, his scream as she fell, slowly, slowly, slowly…</p><p>As she rises, and draws on the well of power within, she can almost hear Sothis sigh, feel her pat her hand, even though she knows the goddess is long gone.</p><p>She tells herself it’s for the cause. For Dimitri, for Faerghus, for a new Fodlan.</p><p>
  <span>Even if a small part of her cries out for her to comfort Claude. To tell him that everything’s going to be okay, that there doesn’t have to be any more fighting, even if it means treason. Treason that nobody but her will remember, but treason still.</span>
</p><p>But for her former students, she’d do anything.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>She’s lying in the slick mud, slippery beneath her feet with rain and blood. The grass is trampled to the point of extinction, bits of armor scattered across the field, accompanied by broken weapons. Bodies are littered across Gronder, blood tainting the once-beautiful ground. Sounds of clashing metal and pain-filled screams echo in the distance, the dismal, clouded sky witness to the atrocities of war as one after another, both friend and foe fall prey to death. Lance, sword, arrow, magic, find their mark and claim the lives of enemies, former classmates, friends. </p><p>She’s lying in the slick mud, him in her arms, hugging him like her life depended on it. Just moments before, she’d laughed beside him, Freikugel slung across one shoulder. She’d looked him in the eyes, her bright pink hair pristine, not yet dampened by rain, dirt, blood. </p><p>“Claude, when have I ever <em> not </em> come back?”</p><p>She can feel his heart beating against hers, elevated but beating steadily. Her own, matching his, adrenaline still pumping its ways through her veins. </p><p>“Hilda,” he breathes, his breath warm and <em> alive </em> on hers as she looks at him. His face is covered in grime, his dark hair matted down by rain as mud and dirt clots soak into his hair, his back. The once sunshine cloak at his shoulder now a mustard yellow, tattered from the fighting. Failnaught secure in his grip, and Freikugel in hers, glowing a matching deep red. But <em> alive </em>. That’s all that matters. </p><p>Her Claude. Alive and whole.</p><p>Just as Dimitri had struck down Edelgard, he’d turned his attention to Claude, whose back was turned as he shot at incoming soldiers. She’d been too far away, but she’d ran anyway, thigh deep in mud that sucked at her legs and held her back even as she struggled towards him. She’d shouted his name, cries tearing their way through her throat as she’d screamed as loud as she could. He’d twisted, just in time to see Dimitri slash Areadbhar, red streaking off the lance like fire waiting to devour Claude whole.</p><p>She’d thrown herself in the way, tackling Claude to the ground, prepared to feel her back split open by the lance point. <em> If this is the way I go out, there’s nobody I’d rather die for than Claude </em>, she’d thought as she’d watched his expression go from terrified to shocked and back as they tumbled into the mud. </p><p>But the blow never came.</p><p>When she’d looked up, it was Byleth who stood in front of them, the Sword of the Creator in hand as she blocked Areadbhar, green hair flaring outwards from the force of the blow. Dimitri had backed away, lance still raised, but Byleth pulled him close, whispering something in his ear before taking his hand. He’d only watched her, a strange mix of emotions on his face as his gaze slid from her to Claude. Mystification furrowed his brow, regret clouded his gaze, but he’d given a slight nod to Claude before allowing Byleth to lead him away.</p><p>Although the sounds of battle still rage around Hilda and Claude, they almost seem muted, fading into the background as her rose quartz eyes stare into his emerald ones. She scrambles off of him, attempting to brush some of the mud off her legs with one hand as she offers the other to him.</p><p>He takes it, slowly clambering to his feet, surveying the battlefield around them warily. Byleth and Dimitri are gone, having disappeared into the fog, and neither friend nor foe is able to be seen through the cloud banks rolling in.</p><p>“You saved me.”</p><p>She starts. “Well, I wouldn’t be a very good retainer if I didn’t, right?” she says with a small laugh, but it quickly dies out as she attempts to brush mud off herself even more vigorously than before. “Listen, Claude, I-”</p><p>He closes the distance between them in one stride, taking her face into his hands and bringing her mouth to his. His lips are cold, and he tastes of rain, but she doesn’t care as she wraps her arms around his waist and pulls him closer, snagging her hands in the remains of his cloak. </p><p>It seems both an eternity and an instant when he draws away, but still within the reach of her embrace. The soft, reassuring pressure of his mouth dissipates, leaving her feeling emptier than before, craving the taste of him.</p><p>“Hilda, I love you.” His mouth tugs up into a smirk, but it’s a smirk with a hint of shyness, nervousness, a contrast to his normal confidence. He lifts one hand from her face to run his fingers through his hair as he looks to the side, blush rising to his skin as his smirk fades just a tiny bit. “I know this isn’t my best timing, but I just had this feeling that if you had died and I didn’t get the chance to say how I felt-”</p><p>She pushes closer, rising on her tiptoes to capture his mouth with hers. He sighs into her, snaking an arm around her hips as he holds onto her like he’ll never let go. She clutches him just as tightly, inseparable, two units molded into one by will and their hearts alone.</p><p>“I’ve been waiting for you to say that for a long time,” she says, the words muffled as she buries her face into his chest, but he can hear the smile in her voice, a note of light teasing. <span>A speck of light in a sea of darkness. </span>“I love you too, Claude, so never, <em> ever </em>leave me.”</p><p>He kisses her on the top of her head, shielding her body with his from the rain as he wraps himself around her small frame. “I’ll always come back to you,” he says, breathing in her scent, floral even under the layer of muck splattering both of them. </p><p>“I promise.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sort-of Epilogue!~</p><p>Byleth watches the pair from afar, two spots of color too close to be told apart by anyone who didn’t know better. </p><p> </p><p>  <i>War has destroyed both of them, but in the end, they still found each other.</i></p><p> </p><p>“Do you really think this will work?” Dimitri says from beside her, and when she turns to him, he’s watching Claude and Hilda as well. </p><p>Regret as he holds up his gauntlets, still splattered with Edelgard’s blood. </p><p>Relief, that Claude didn’t have to die. </p><p>Loneliness.</p><p>Byleth knew he had never wanted to kill Claude. They’d been on their way to being allies, maybe even friends at the Academy. So she’d proposed a new chance at peace, negotiation, coexistence with the Alliance, and he’d taken it. </p><p>If he hadn’t, she would have had to choose. And she doesn’t know if she would have made the right choice.</p><p>She scrutinizes Dimitri, the steady, living beat of his heart against her palm as she’d placed her hand in his fixed in her mind. He tips his head, twisting to face her as he spies her gaze on him, still waiting for an answer. </p><p>“Yes,” she tells him. “It will.”</p><p>--------</p><p>I've always wanted to write a Hilclaude fic and this idea just came to me after I remembered Hilda's death quote in CF! Claude's reaction...yes I know there are already fics on her quote but I just couldn't resist. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this; I had a lot of fun writing it and it was originally just going to be angst but then, I couldn't just leave them without a happy ending! Hilda and Claude have such a good dynamic &lt;3</p><p>Find me on Twitter! <a href="https://twitter.com/ardentiia">@ardentiia</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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